Facing the Truth
by fire mystic
Summary: The confessions are flying and they're all in love. Question is with who? A Reno/Tifa, Elena/Yuffie for The Sacred and Profane.
1. Chapter 1

_For The Sacred and Profane, who has a wicked sense of "what goes around comes around", and who has once again accomplished getting me to write something I never thought I would. Thanks for reading!_

_Rated M warning for sensitive subject matter and a small amount of mild erotic content. _

_I neither own nor profit from ffvii or its characters. _

_Enjoy._

_fire mystic_

Facing the Truth

Reno looked at the two women he was sitting with, total shock apparent on his face.

What the hell?

He couldn't think past the words he had just heard. He was stuck in the vortex of thought spinning around in his head. Had he heard that right? Just how drunk _was _Elena? Would she remember this tomorrow? Hell, how drunk was _he_? Had Yuffie known the whole time?

No. The answer to that last one was pretty clear. He shook himself out of his state of confused astonishment to check out the White Ninja of Wutai, or whatever the hell they called her. Yuffie was glancing back and forth between him and Elena, her face flashing from shock to horror to outrage and back again so fast it was almost funny, and she had been, for the first time since Reno had known her, rendered speechless.

In the meantime, totally oblivious to the effect her bombshell had on either of her friends, Elena had laid her head down on the table and fallen fast asleep, giving an occasional snore as she muttered in her sleep.

"Did I hear her right?" Reno asked.

Yuffie simply nodded. Damn. Maybe Reno should find more ways to shock her like this.

"I thought you two were friends. She never even hinted?"

Yuffie shook her head, eyes still too wide, mouth opening and closing in an attempt to work. Still, nothing came out.

He stood up, his mind retreating back into a melee of troubling questions and concerns, and had turned and taken a couple of steps away from the table before thinking to clarify something more with Yuffie.

"What are we going to do about this?"

Yuffie's lips formed something that might have been "I", but then seemed to get stuck there. Reno took her shrug and repeated shaking of the head as the clearest answer he was going to get. He stepped out onto the street, breathing deeply the fresh air, now fully aware that he wasn't nearly as drunk as he had thought, but thinking it might have been a good idea.

Elena was in love. That should have been a good thing. Reno should be happy for her.

And he would have been. Problem was her crush was on Tifa Lockhart.

_His_ _girlfriend_.

* * *

Yuffie was aghast. She stared at the door Reno had just walked out of for a good five minutes before her eyes drifted back to the blonde head of hair that was so ungracefully spread across the table.

She had gotten to know Elena after that battle with the remnants. The Turks had been decimated in Shinra's fall, and Elena was left the only woman in the group. The lines of good and bad had blurred and been re-drawn, which left the open the opportunity for new friendships to form. And they had, some stranger than others. Strangest of them all, as far as Yuffie was concerned was Tifa dating Reno. Reno! Of all people! Oh, he was all well and good, and now that Yuffie had gotten to know him, she had discovered that he wasn't the complete ass she had thought him to be. In fact, he was fun to be around and knew how to have a good time. But what Tifa saw in him, Yuffie still wasn't sure. On the other hand, her befriending Elena had seemed completely natural; Yuffie was friendly and outgoing and provided Elena with someone to get away from the boys with once in a while, and they balanced each other out. Yuffie helped bring Elena out of her prim-proper-perfect shell and loosen her up, while Elena kept Yuffie's wilder side from getting her into excessive trouble.

Tonight, however, it seemed Elena was the one that had walked on the wild side, although, Yuffie thought with wry humor, Elena was not very suited for it.

Drinking wasn't par for the course for Elena, but tonight she had gone at it with gusto, and Yuffie had found out why it might be better if Elena didn't indulge more often; as it turned out, Elena was depressing-turning-to-anger/self pity drunk. This was so not good, especially with her enlightening news. Yuffie had no clue about Elena's crush on Tifa until the blonde blurted it out with a loud, sarcastic laugh, but could she have possibly done it in more awkward company? For once, Yuffie was left without any reaction besides silent shock, facing Reno across the table, trying to figure out what to say to the bombshell that Elena was in love with his girlfriend.

And, Yuffie mulled, as if that weren't bad enough, wait till Elena sobered up and found out what she had confessed. Yuffie wasn't always great at thinking things through to their conclusion, but she figured there was no way that Elena wasn't going to have to face this at some point, even if it was only to smooth things over with Reno.

Pushing her drink away, no longer interested in the effects of the alcohol, Yuffie dropped her head down into her hands. What would Reno do with this information? She figured it would either give him fodder for picking on Elena for months to come, maybe years, or that it would put a wedge between them, ruin their friendship. And would Reno tell Tifa? She simply didn't know Reno well enough to make a guess at that, but she hoped Reno was savvy enough to know that it wasn't his place, that if anyone were going to tell Tifa about this, it would have to be Elena. And what would Tifa think of that? Was there a remote possibility Tifa might be interested if she found out Elena's feelings? It was a question Yuffie didn't even want to think about, because crowding it out was her own overwhelming feelings about the entire situation.

Their being a couple could not be allowed. Elena couldn't be in love with Tifa. Because it wasn't fair! Tifa had never shown any sign of feeling anything remotely romantic towards Elena, and had never given Elena so much as the time of day compared to, well, herself!

"After all", Yuffie muttered, shaking Elena until she got a slight stir, and then standing to carefully lift her semi-conscious friend and help her home, "I'm the one who loves you."

* * *

Tifa tilted her head back as Reno rolled them over, giving him access to her neck, shuddering and moaning as he swirled his tongue at the hollow of her throat and then licked a path along the slender curve, teeth grazing, before latching onto and sucking at the soft, sensitive skin just below her chin.

Gaia, was there anything better than this? Months into dating him, and making out with her on the couch, on the floor, on the…come to think of it, anywhere he happened to think of, still felt as wicked and illicit as the first time. It had surprised Tifa how much Reno enjoyed this, never rushing. On the contrary, he had a way of drawing it out and turning it into an exquisite form of torture, leaving her feeling spent and languid, even before the clothes came off.

Tonight he seemed particularly intense, focusing specifically on those spots he knew were most responsive, lingering through Tifa gasping, arching, and wriggling against him, and then moving on to the next sensitive bundle of nerves.

He withdrew from his current obsession as she turned her face to him and caught her mouth in a searing kiss, and she didn't even care that she couldn't breathe when he caressed his tongue against hers in a deep, determined invasion of her senses.

It took her a few moments after he drew back from the kiss to return to reality and find Reno studying her with a strange expression on his face, a strange combination of thoughtfulness, curiosity, and possible concern replacing the flush of desire he previously had. He was playing with a strand of her hair, wrapping it around his finger, and then rolling the strands back and forth. A chill crept along Tifa's skin as she realized something wasn't right.

"What's wrong, Reno?" She asked, voice still wispy. His eyes slid away from her face and she felt his body tense up as he shook his head and tried to shrug it off. Gently, she smoothed a hand from where it rested on his waist to caress along his face. She didn't force him to look at her, but traced the tattoo high on his cheek with one finger. His eyes closed at that; it was the same way she traced his scars, one of her most tender caresses, one she used only in very close intimacy.

"Tell me, Reno."

"It's silly." It might have been, he knew, but it was also driving him to distraction, and he felt awful that the questions kept lingering and swirling around in his head, until he knew he had no choice but to put voice to them. He didn't even know how to say it, to ask.

"Tell me anyway," she gently urged.

Reno took a deep breath and let it out.

"Have you ever kissed another woman?"

Her forehead scrunched a bit in confusion, and she smiled slightly, clearly puzzled by the question.

"Of course I have. My mother, my friends." What an odd question for him to ask; it certainly wasn't what she had expected, and he was shaking his head again, which meant she hadn't really answered what he was asking.

"No, I mean have you ever _really_ kissed another woman? You know, like I just kissed you."

* * *

Curled up in the overstuffed chair, Yuffie silently observed Elena pacing back and forth across her living room floor. She stopped, finally, turning to Yuffie, a cross between disbelief and tell-me-it-isn't-so dominating her features.

"Are you sure I said that?"

Yuffie nodded.

"In front of Reno?"

"Oh, yeah. You should have seen his face."

Elena slumped onto the couch, dropping her head in her hands.

"What am I going to do?"

Biting her lip, Yuffie contemplated what she was about to suggest.

"I think you should tell her."

"What?" Shock didn't do her expression justice.

Yuffie bounced up and took over the pacing where Elena left off.

"Tell her. That way, it isn't a secret anymore. You won't have to worry about Reno telling her, or holding it over you in any way." She paused, gathering her courage. "And it will give Tifa a chance to acknowledge your feelings. Who knows; maybe she'll feel the same way." Gaia forbid that happen! Yuffie was hoping her next suggestion would be the more likely solution. "Or, if she doesn't, you'll be able to move on instead of keeping all those feelings locked away." And if that happened, Yuffie planned on being dead center in Elena's path as she moved on.

Elena stared at the floor, thinking over Yuffie's advice. She was right; there was no way to feel comfortable about any of this without confronting it. She nodded, wondering why it couldn't be easier. Hell, having a crush on…Tseng…would be easier to deal with than this.

* * *

Tifa's eyes rounded completely as did her mouth in a silent 'oh', and her finger stopped stroking his cheek as her brain scrambled to come up with a logical explanation why he would ask her such a thing. She blushed as the first thing that came to her mind was that Reno wanted to indulge some fantasy she didn't know about involving her and another woman, or perhaps all three of them. She was ashamed that was her first thought while, at the same time, thinking 'oh, hell no'.

Reno watched the color fill her face and misread it entirely, taking it to be an affirmative to a question that she probably had never expected to be asked, more or less have to answer. The possibilities that opened up had him backing away from her, sliding to sit on the floor, leaning back on the couch.

"Reno!" She leaned forward, putting her hand on his shoulder. What in Gaia had gotten into him?

"It's okay, Tifa. I shouldn't have asked. Whatever's past is past. It's your life, and if that's what you wanted, it's none of my business."

"What are you talking about, Reno? You didn't even let me answer the question."

"You didn't need to. The answer…"

"…is no."

He whipped around to stare at her, not sure he believed it.

"Never?"

"Never." It was the strangest conversation they had ever had, but Tifa sensed that this was important to Reno for some reason and was the key to finding out what was bothering him.

"Have you ever thought about it?"

"No." Oh how she hoped this wasn't going where she had first thought it was going.

"Would you ever be interested in dating another woman?"

_What?_

Tifa slid down to sit next to him.

"Why are you asking me this, Reno?"

He rolled his head back and side to side, trying to relieve the knot of muscle that was his neck. How was he going to explain this one? He couldn't help but ask, but he hadn't thought far enough ahead to think he might have to explain. Ah, what the hell.

"I heard a rumor, and I haven't been able to stop thinking about it, wondering if that might be something you might be interested in if you knew they liked you. You know, if it was someone you never expected it from, never thought you had a chance with."

The relief that flooded through her was much more profound than the seed of curiosity that had been planted. Now that she knew what he was really asking her, she could get to the bottom of this.

"Reno, it doesn't matter what other people think or feel. I can't help that. What matters is what I feel. If I was interested in someone else, I'd have made that known, and I've done that. I'm with the person I want to be with, and trust me, nobody I know," and she was assuming she knew this person, "elicits the same feelings in me that you do." The last she said as she gently squeezed his thigh just above his knee, an intentional gesture that could be taken as both friendly and suggestive. It wasn't only his seductive charm she loved; it was the walks in the rain, how he loved to puddle-jump, how he held her as they counted the stars at night. How he casually wrapped himself around her, no matter where they were, and had a way of making her feel safe and loved.

Lacing his fingers with hers, Reno gifted her with one of his most genuine smiles.

"I should have known better than to bring it up. You and I are good, huh, Lockhart?"

She nudged his shoulder with hers.

"We're better than good." Reno wasn't convinced of that yet, but Tifa was waiting patiently for him to get there.

"You're not mad at me because I asked?"

"Mad?" Tifa's laughter released her tension. "Are you kidding? I'm relieved. For a second there, I thought you had some strange fantasy in mind that you wanted to act out, watching me with another girl or something."

Tifa glanced up after a rather long silence and winced as she read Reno's thoughts from his expression as clearly as if he had spoken them, and his thoughts looked something like "Damn, why didn't I think of that?"

* * *

Tifa spent most of the night and the next day trying to puzzle out who Reno could have been talking about. It came down to one of two people, so when she opened the door later that afternoon in response to the bell, she was pretty sure she knew why Elena was standing on her doorstep.

"Hey Tifa. I need to, ummm, talk to you about something."

Tifa played dumb. Reno hadn't told her it was Elena, and she wasn't going to give Elena any reason to think he had betrayed her confidence. She invited Elena in, and they sat out in the back yard as Elena confessed her feelings for Tifa. It was strange, Tifa thought, that Elena could have these feelings for her. Though they knew each other, and even spent some time together in a casual way, they had never been the best of friends, and the only thing they really had in common was Reno. But stranger things had happened. After all, Tifa was dating Reno.

Elena, for her part, recognized her feelings for what they were, a crush, and had never fostered the expectation that they would be returned, but knew that after her drunken admission, the truth had to be told.

It was an awkward conversation, of that there was no doubt. If Elena hadn't known before that Tifa was happy with Reno, she did now. Not that she had been harboring the illusion that Tifa was going to drop everything to pursue a relationship, or even a friendship with her, but the hard knowledge of it was eye-opening.

Thankfully, Tifa wasn't mean about it. Rather, she was quite understanding and sympathetic, though very clear about her lack of feelings for Elena. Conversation over, a delicate silence ensued, and Tifa walked Elena to the door, giving her a friendly hug and a smile as proof things would not be strained between them.

Elena walked back to her car, and dropped down into the driver's seat, feeling better and worse at the same time for having made her feelings known. Her cell phone chirruped and she checked the picture id of her caller before answering. At the image of Yuffie in an arrogant pose in that silly cloak, holding up a ball of materia, a smile lit up her face and she immediately felt better, her day looking brighter. Yuffie, she realized, would know what to do to make her smile. Yuffie always knew.

And it would only be a matter of time before Elena figured out what that realization really meant, and that the someone special she had been searching for was a lot closer than she had ever thought.


	2. Blame it on Materia

_For TarotCard87, who asked for a continuation. Also, thank you to The Sacred and Profane, whose request for "Facing the Truth" started it all. If not for his support and idea sharing, I might not have been able to write this. Thank you both for being so sweet and supportive! _

_Edit because my brain spasmed: Thank you also to rageofloki, for proofing and making a couple of suggestions!  
_

_Enjoy._

_fire mystic_

Blame it on Materia

Elena accepted Reno's request to dance, and let him sweep her across the dance floor. She hadn't expected him to look so handsome in a tuxedo, and next to Tifa in her wedding gown, she didn't think she had ever seen a more beautiful couple. Thinking back on her crush on Tifa, she now found it highly amusing that she hadn't seen before how wrong they would have been together, and how right Tifa was with Reno.

After their dance, he returned her to her date, who was sitting at their table talking to Tifa, and sat down next to his new wife, wrapping one arm around her as he laced her other hand with his.

"Okay, Laney, Yuffie, you have to tell us. How did this happen?"

The two women turned brilliant smiles on each other and answered at the same time.

"I was taking a bubble bath," Elena blurted, while Yuffie admitted "I was playing with materia."

* * *

That was it. It was more than Elena could take. How did she end up stuck in the middle of working with such a group of men? If Reno played one more prank on her, she was going to shoot him, simple as that. Tseng needed to loosen his tie. Or something. Maybe it was his underwear that was too tight. And Rude! Could she possible sneak up on him while he was sleeping and shave off that stupid eyebrow he kept raising at her? If it weren't for the occasional grunt, she wouldn't even be sure the man had vocal chords.

It had been a horrible day, and she knew it wasn't all their faults, but it felt really good to walk away from them and that office.

Dragging herself home, she made a beeline from the front door to the bathroom, running a hot bath with lots of bubbles, pulling her clothes off and heaping them into the hamper as the tub filled. Collecting a glass of wine and lighting a few candles, she turned the lights down and slipped into the warm water.

A few minutes passed, and her cell phone rang from where she had tossed it on the bathroom counter. She didn't bother making the stretch to reach it, and regretted not having left it in the bedroom. A few seconds after that, the house phone rang. She didn't bother to get that, either. Hitting the button to turn on the Jacuzzi, she settled in for a nice, long soak.

And her cell phone started to ring again, this time repeatedly. The annoying ring-tone she had chosen started to wear on her already frayed nerves, and she finally gave up on ignoring it and reached for the phone. If it meant getting a moments peace, she would answer if only to tell whoever it was to leave her alone.

"What?" She answered, at the end of her patience.

"Elena?" The voice was crackling, but there was no doubt it was Yuffie, and Elena thought she might have detected a note of worry over the enormous amount of noise in the background.

"Yuffie? What's wrong?"

"Why didn't you answer your phone?" Now she sounded like it was just another day and Elena wondered if there was really anything to be concerned about.

"It's called a bubble bath, Yuffie. It was an awful day. Can I call you back in a while?"

"Well, actually…I need to ask you a favor."

Elena didn't know whether to smile or cringe, so she did a combination of both. Favors for Yuffie could be anything from going shopping with her to rescuing her from one of the impossible situations she managed to get into.

"Sure. If I can." And she would, Elena knew. Their friendship had reached that point where she would most likely say yes. She just hoped it wouldn't involve getting some nasty substance out of Yuffie's hair.

"I need a place to stay for a few days."

Elena heard a crash somewhere in the background over the phone.

"What was that noise?"

Yuffie didn't respond for a minute, but Elena could hear a muffled mumbling as if Yuffie were holding her hand over the receiver. Then the line cleared.

"What noise? I didn't hear a noise. Must be static on the line. So what do you say? Got a couch I can sleep on?"

Oh, there was so much more than Yuffie needing a place to sleep going on, but Elena knew that trying to get answers when Yuffie was being evasive might not be so easy. Of all the strange conversations Elena had with Yuffie, this certainly ranked up there.

"Sure. What time should I expect you?"

Another crash and a yelp from Yuffie had Elena shrinking back from the receiver as the phone slipped out of her hand and fell into the water. Worried now, Elena frantically fished the phone from the tub, now water-logged and dripping bubbles.

The line was dead, and when Elena tried to dial, the phone wouldn't cooperate. Panic settled in the center of her chest as she jumped out of the tub, not bothering to rinse off, frantically drying herself, and raced into her room to throw some clothes on, not even paying attention to what they were. She had no idea where Yuffie would be, and she was flying blind, but she figured the best place to check was her apartment. If that didn't work, Elena planned on making a couple of phone calls to her colleagues. If anyone could find someone in this city, it was the Turks.

Those phone calls weren't necessary, as it turned out. When she pulled onto Yuffie's street, there was no mistaking what the noises over the phone had been, and pulling up to the curb, Elena spotted Yuffie sitting on the lawn across the street, staring up at the wreck that used to be her apartment. It was at the sight of her friend, and the intense relief she felt that Yuffie was all right, that Elena had the first inkling that her feelings for the ninja might be more than just friendship.

She sat in the car for a few seconds after she parked, looking back and forth, Yuffie, wreckage, Yuffie. She caught Yuffie's shocked attention with the loud thump of the door as she exited the car, and went to sit beside her on the grass. Sidling up close, she put her arm around the smaller girl, and together they watched the dust settle.

"You were playing with materia again, weren't you?"

Yuffie nodded. "Good thing we're insured." She opened her jacket and exposed an interior pocket. "And a Good thing I rescued most of it." Her pockets were lined with the glowing orbs, and Elena couldn't help but laugh.

"You are not bringing that stuff into my apartment."

"Does that mean…?"

Elena stood up, reaching a hand to help her materia-obsessed friend.

"Yes, you can stay with me, as long as you stash that stuff somewhere else."

Yuffie couldn't help but smile. Maybe this mishap would take a turn for the positive after all.

* * *

Elena was worried. She had never had anyone stay with her, and she wasn't sure she was up to dealing with Yuffie's energy level. As it turned out, at least on that first night, energy was not something she needed to worry about. Yuffie collapsed on the couch as soon as she had arranged it into a makeshift bed, and leaning in the doorway, Elena watched the girl sleeping, amused by the slight snuffling sounds she made while she slept and the way she sprawled on the couch, one leg hooked up over the back rest, while the opposite arm was flung out, almost touching the floor.

Elena couldn't believe the feeling that came over her, sneaking up and enveloping her gently.

She was captivated.

Her fascination surprised her at first, but then, Elena thought, it wasn't that strange. However odd their friendship was to begin with, she got along well with Yuffie and enjoyed her energetic, mischievous spirit, which was always amusing but never intentionally hurtful. Yuffie had a way of making her laugh, even when Elena didn't feel like laughing, of bringing her comfort without trying, and of always being there when Elena needed her.

Moving closer, navigating the darkened room until she stood by Yuffie's head, she gazed at Yuffie's face in the dim light that came from the bedroom. Even in sleep, it looked like Yuffie was happy, her lips curled in a slight smile even while relaxed. She was reaching a hand to push away a wayward strand of hair from Yuffie's forehead, when she was startled by a snort followed by the obnoxious inhalation of a triple-hitched snore. Elena barely dodged falling over the coffee table as she stepped back quickly, and by the time she reached the door again, completely out of breath, she had to cover her mouth with a firm hand to keep the hysterical giggling from overflowing. She wasn't sure what was funnier, her melodramatic reaction to Yuffie's snoring, or Yuffie's smacking her lips in her sleep as she started to mutter.

* * *

Elena was cute in the mornings. Her rumpled appearance, hair stuck out in different directions, and she kind of shuffled blindly around the house in her pajamas, feeling her way with her hands, eyes not quite all the way open.

Yuffie was very careful not to let on that she was watching Elena, much less that she was secretly enjoying it. She suspected that Elena was over her feelings for Tifa, and though the blond hadn't mentioned anyone else, Yuffie wasn't sure Elena would be ready for her to admit her own feelings. She decided, instead, to try to be as good a houseguest as possible, to give Elena attentions that would prove how important Elena was to her.

She started that first morning by getting breakfast ready while Elena was in the shower, and when Elena came into the kitchen wearing half of her Turk uniform, Yuffie had a bowl of corn flakes and a glass of orange juice waiting on the table. She had rifled through Elena's cupboards, but couldn't find any real breakfast food hiding. Who didn't have Pop-Tarts and Fruit Loops in their cabinet, anyway? She was really going to have to do some shopping if she was going to stay here.

Elena was pleasantly surprised; not only was breakfast ready and waiting, but the kitchen was still intact with no sign of smoke damage. But then, Yuffie hadn't actually cooked anything. The only thing better might have been breakfast in bed. After eating and thanking Yuffie, curious as to the special treatment, Elena pulled on her jacket and shoes, and left for work, wondering what surprises might lay in store for her when she returned.

When she pulled up in front of her building that evening, her apartment window was dark, but at least it was still _there_. Dragging herself to the door, she opened it to find that it wasn't actually dark, simply not well lit. Candles were lit here and there, and in the living room, Yuffie was sitting cross-legged in the middle of the floor, eyes closed, hands extended out before her. Elena tried to inch by to her bedroom without disturbing the meditation, but only made it to the door before Yuffie's voice trailed after her.

"A bath is waiting for you. Let me know if you need anything."

A bath? Elena turned back to find Yuffie in the exact position as when she entered the room.

"You didn't need to do that, Yuffie."

Yuffie still didn't move.

"No, but I thought you would enjoy it, especially after I interrupted you last night. Now shoo, before the water gets cold."

Elena prepared for her bath and stepped into the bathroom and found, with a gasp followed by a burst of laughter, that there was no room for her in the tub. End to end, side to side, Yuffie had managed to cover the entire surface of the water with a variety of rubber ducks, different sizes and in a rainbow of colors. Elena had to remove a quarter of the ducks simply to slide into the water, and then she was confronted with a crowd of ducks watching her from the tubs edge as she bathed. How 'Yuffie' was this?

Elena soaked in the tub for a good long while, until the water began to turn uncomfortable chilly, and after rinsing off, wrapped a towel around her body and headed to the bedroom to dress.

Yuffie was singing with the television when she came out, belting out the lyrics to Scooby Doo and jumping up and down even as she was sitting down on the couch. She turned to Elena with a brilliant smile and patted the couch beside her.

"It's a marathon of the original, and I made you dinner. Wanna watch it with me?"

How could Elena say no to such enthusiasm? She sat down next to Yuffie and found a plate with a sandwich with peanut butter and some white stuff in it and a glass of milk waiting for her.

"I thought you said you cooked," she commented.

Yuffie turned her "you've-got-to-be-kidding-me" expression on Elena.

"No. I said I made you dinner. I never said anything about cooking. Stoves scare me. One snafu and you could blow up the house!"

Oh, that was rich, Elena thought, hiding her grin at the irony of Yuffie-the-materia-wielding-ninja's comment, by taking a skeptical bite of her sandwich, which she found a bit sweet, but not too bad.

"What is this stuff?"

Yuffie checked out the sandwich with surprise. "A fluffernutter. You've never had a fluffernutter?" Oh, Elena really did need someone to take care of her.

Of course, Elena had never watched Scooby Doo, and it seemed like she had a question every ten seconds, but Yuffie answered them all with enthusiasm and after four episodes, the fluffernutter, and a shared bowl of popcorn that Yuffie had jumped up to make during a commercial, Elena was well on her way to being a Scooby convert.

The next day at work gave Elena time to think over the previous day and her shared evening with Yuffie, how comfortable it was, how much she enjoyed Yuffie's company, how Yuffie had taken care of her in her own unique way.

How no matter what insanity Yuffie came up with, Elena found it cute and funny rather than annoying. How she had worried for Yuffie when she got that phone call, not knowing what the noise was over the phone, not knowing if Yuffie was okay.

How she had found herself stealing glances at the girl as they watched their cartoon, and wondering why she had never taken special note of how pretty Yuffie was, with her wide, sparkling eyes and contagious smile.

Elena left work looking forward to another evening with Yuffie in her apartment, and had a brainstorm on the way home, detouring from her usual route to make a couple of stops, making sure that when she opened the door to her apartment again, she wouldn't be empty handed. Yuffie was always giving her little gifts, silly things, things she found, or things she knew Elena liked but wouldn't indulge in for herself, well, everything except materia. Until now she hadn't reciprocated much; it was time to change that.

She found Yuffie in the living room again, in her meditation pose, and used the fact that her eyes were closed to put the package down in front of the ninja.

"I got something for you."

Yuffie's eyes flew open to find a wrapped gift in front of her, a rubber duck sitting on top of the box, which she picked up and squeaked with childish glee. This was practically a first from Elena, and she tore into the packaging, and as if her eyes weren't already bright enough, they glittered happily when they discovered the box set of Scooby Doo DVD's. The originals.

She hopped up, managing to get her legs caught as she tried to uncurl them, and practically fell on Elena as she hugged her, giggling, full to the brim with happy silliness. Fortunately, Elena managed to catch her.

"Oh, thank you Elena! I love it! I love you!" And she placed a sloppy kiss on Elena's cheek, holding her even tighter.

Blushing brightly, Elena wrapped her arms around the smaller woman, and returned her hug. Yes. This felt right. She held her for a second longer, and then turned to whisper in her ear.

"I think I love you, too."

Yuffie pulled back, startled by the seriousness in Elena's voice, and saw by her expression that she hadn't misunderstood.

Her smile returned full force, and as it did, Elena stepped in, tenderly pressing their lips together.

* * *

"I'm happy Elena found someone to make her happy," Tifa spoke softly to her husband as she swirled around the dance floor in the circle of Reno's arms. Listening to Elena and Yuffie share their story, they now looked forward to being friends with the new couple, any awkwardness of Elena's crush on Tifa having been left in the past.

"I'm happy she found someone besides you," Reno responded, smirk in place, mischievous glint in his eye. "After all, the sharing thing would never have worked."

Tifa huffed, playfully slapping his shoulder.

"Oh, you wound me." He flinched as if it had really hurt. "Face it, Lockhart, you're the possessive type."

"And you have a problem with that?"

Kissing her gently, he muttered "not at all" against her lips and then let the kiss escalate. They pulled apart as the music changed, both heated and slightly flushed, but the music had quickly distracted them, as did Yuffie's voice.

"Come ON, Elena! We have to dance! Let's go!" She was dragging her girlfriend by the hand to the center of the floor, and Elena proceeded to try and follow Yuffie's moves as accurately as she could.

Reno wheeled around, grabbing one of the professional photographers who had a video camera in hand. Pointing at the couple, he whispered conspiratorially with the man.

"Make sure you get this on camera. I want a copy. In fact I want two."

Elena's sense of humor had improved over the past couple of months, and now that Reno understood why, he wondered how it would hold up to him sharing the video of Elena and Yuffie doing the Funky Chicken Dance together.

Yeah, this was going to be fun.


End file.
